This invention relates generally to hunting stands and more particularly to tree mounted hunting stands with a tree mounted access ladder.
Hunters have for years used tree mounted stands for certain types of hunting such as deer hunting. Until recently, hunters typically built a stand at an elevated position in a tree and drove nails in the tree trunk to provide steps to gain access to the stand. More recently, forest management personnel have required that nails not be driven into the tree trunk since damage to tree harvesting and sawing equipment results.
This requirement has given rise to the widespread use of stands which are used by the hunter to climb the tree. Such stands are commonly called climbing stands. These climbing stands have a built-in gripping mechanism which permits the stand to grip the tree trunk at any position along its trunk. The hunter typically extends the gripping mechanism on the stand around the base of the tree trunk and attaches the stand to his feet. The hunter then grips the tree trunk and lifts the stand with his feet to a higher position and causes the gripping mechanism on the stand to regrip the tree trunk at the higher position. The hunter releases his initial grip on the tree trunk and regrips the tree trunk at a higher position. He continues to repeat this operation until he has reached the desired height in the tree. Some examples of climbing stands are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,955,645 (5/76) and 4,205,733 (6/80).
While the climbing type stand has the advantage of not using nails in the tree trunk and not requiring a separate ladder to get to the stand in the tree, such stands suffer from a number of disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is that such stands are prone to slip off the hunter's feet and automatically move down the tree trunk leaving the hunter stranded. Another disadvantage is that the hunter must work the stand up and down the tree trunk each time he wants to come down and go back up the tree. Another disadvantage is that the hunter must keep his weight properly positioned on the stand to keep the gripping mechanism engaging the tree trunk to keep the stand in place. Another disadvantage is that the hunter cannot raise the stand above the lowermost branch on the tree.
Another type of stand which has been tried is a fixed stand which can be fixedly mounted on the tree trunk. The stands typically require the use of a separate ladder so that the hunter can climb the tree on the ladder to install the stand and to mount the stand. Examples of the fixed type of stand are illustrated in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,116,808 (3/62) and 3,961,686 (6/76).
While this type of stand permitted the hunter to come down and go back up the tree using the ladder, prior art stands of this type generally suffer from a number of disadvantages. Some of those stands required that the stand be assembled as it is installed in the tree thereby making installation difficult, especially when working off a ladder. Most of the ladders used with these stands did not permit the hunter to position himself so that his weight tended to move him toward rather than away from the tree so that he was stable, especially during the installation of the stand. Also, most of the ladders used with the stands were difficult to install, had a limited height to which they could be extended, and were subject to shifting on the tree trunk after they were installed. These prior art stands usually had limited stability so that the hunter had to be especially careful both during installation and use to insure safety of use.